


Scott and Alan - Addiction/Withdrawal

by HedwigsTalons



Series: Hedwig's Bad Things Happen Bingo [2]
Category: Thunderbirds
Genre: Addiction, Drug Withdrawal, Gen, opiate abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:48:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26823169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HedwigsTalons/pseuds/HedwigsTalons
Summary: Scott is forced to confront his actions and their consequences.
Series: Hedwig's Bad Things Happen Bingo [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1956313
Comments: 4
Kudos: 11





	Scott and Alan - Addiction/Withdrawal

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Hodgeheg002](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hodgeheg002/gifts).



> A Bad Things Happen Bingo request fic for Hodgeheg002 who asked for Alan and Scott for the Addiction/Withdrawal square.

“Please Virg, it....it hurts.”

He’d never managed to be as stoic about pain as Scott, nor did he have anywhere near the thresholds and tolerances of Gordon, but he didn’t usually have to resort to begging to get the analgesia he so desperately needed. He tried to be brave and ride it out like his brothers but the explosion and resulting injuries had left him in a world of pain.

Virgil took in the creased features and the glisten of a tear drop just threatening to escape the scrunched up blue eyes. He wanted to help. All of them had an inbuilt protectiveness over the youngest of their set, by rights still a child yet so willing to shoulder the same burdens as the rest of them. He let out a regretful sigh. “Sorry Alan, no can do, you’re already up to safe dose limits.” 

“Please, it’s doing nothing. Isn’t there anything you can give me?” The accompanying whimper tore at Virgil’s heart

“You’re already up to the limits on the good stuff.” He smoothed a hand through Alan’s hair but the action only seemed to hurt his brother more and he quickly withdrew. “Look, last dose was at midday so you can have another in, what, two hours. You can last that long, can’t you Champ?”

Even through the haze of pain that made the hours blur together Alan could tell that something wasn’t right. 

“I...I didn’t have any then. Was asleep. Please Virgil.” There was a hiss as another wave of fire caused his body to tense and the threatened tear gave up it’s fight.

Virgil frowned slightly and brought up Alan’s medical records. There was no doubt in his mind that the pain his brother was experiencing was genuine and extreme but he couldn’t administer the longed for relief. There, clearly marked up on the chart, were two tablets issued in the middle of the day. Either Alan was confused with the pain or something else was seriously wrong. 

He needed a second opinion and who best to consult than the most qualified medic of them all.

Xoxoxox

Sally took in the hunched form of her eldest grandson slumped at the desk, his head supported by one arm. A myriad of reports were projected in front of eyes that gazed unseeingly at the reams of files. She stepped up quietly and shut down the projection, the sudden change in lighting sparking a reaction from the care-worn man.

“Grandma, what’s happened? Is it Alan?” A hand on his shoulder caused weary eyes turned to meet the face filled with love and care but also clearly edged by worry. He instinctively tried to straighten and push his own issues to one side, his thoughts instantly flying to the blonde form currently confined to the infirmary. The subtle nod he received sent his imagination into overdrive.

“Yes, he isn’t responding as I would have expected. I’m worried that there is something going on that I’ve missed and I need a second opinion. Virgil is currently preparing transport to the main trauma hospital in New Zealand.”

“What do you mean he isn’t responding as expected?” Scott’s own medical training flashed to the forefront of his mind as he ran through possible scenarios. Fears that the blast that had his youngest brother laid up in the infirmary may have caused hidden damage.

“His pain response is extreme. With the injuries he reports, and what I can find on my scans, he should be comfortable as a minimum but he isn’t. I’m worried about internal injuries and if he needs emergency surgery, well, it’s going to need a proper surgical team. We’ll need to be able to tell the hospital as much as we can though to aid their investigations or we risk them doing more harm than good so if there is anything else you can remember about the incident, any information you think could help at all, you need to tell me.”

Sally watched the man in front of her carefully. He might be the Commander but he was still her grandson. She’d watched him grow and knew his tells, his response now was crucial to how she proceeded with a delicate situation. She could almost read the thoughts flitting across his face; self preservation mixed with a fear that Alan could be subjected to unnecessary treatments. In the end the need to protect and care for his siblings won out, as she had hoped it would.

“There’s no need to take him to the mainland. Alan just missed a dose of his meds, that’s all.”

“Really? Because his chart clearly shows you gave him the maximum not so long ago.” A few taps on the holo-controls and the damning document was glowing in front of him, his entry clearly visible on the bottom line.”

His face crumpled as realisation hit. His grandmother knew exactly what he had done.

“You’re grounded. I’ll be taking over until both Grandma and I clear you as fit to return.” Virgil stepped out from his place in the shadows causing Scott to jolt in fear.

“You can’t. I’m handling it.”

“Scott, you’re not handling it. You stole Alan’s pain meds.”

The real enormity of his actions hit him like a tsunami. He knew all too well what it was like to need that blessed relief, it was what had got him into this mess in the first place. He had placed his own need over that of his baby brother and condemned him to unnecessary pain. He slumped and buried his head in his hands, his face grey as the blood drained away.

“Is he…?”

“He’s fine. Grandma found something different he could have. Not as good as the opiates but we couldn’t risk giving him any more of those until we were absolutely certain. He’s getting by and we can get him back on track, now we know. But now we need you to tell us exactly what you’ve been having and how long it’s been going on for.”

They had a good idea of course. Virgil had laid out his concerns regarding Alan’s pain to their grandmother but instead of being worried for the youngest Tracy she had surprised him by being more interested in Scott. The difference between them though was that Sally had trained and practiced during the opioid crisis. She had been taught to spot the signs of addiction and abuse in substances that were now far better controlled. She had hoped that it was something she would never need to deal with again but any discrepancies between drugs charts and what the patient claimed they were taking was a massive red flag, but in this case the flag was waving at the prescriber rather than the patient. 

As soon as suspicions had been raised they had trawled the controlled drugs log with a fine toothed comb and found enough evidence to determine that Scott likely had a serious problem. Getting him to admit it was just the first stage towards his recovery.

Scott took a deep breath and let it all spill out. How he’d forced himself back into active duty too soon after an injury of his own. How it had been so easy to just write out a quick prescription, ostensibly for the rescuee who in reality had needed nothing, but then to take the drugs himself when the flare of pain had almost left him unable to fly home. 

All the Tracys had access to controlled drugs. Every ‘bird contained a stock of analgesia that the brothers, with their emergency responder training, were permitted to issue to those victims that needed immediate medical help before transfer to hospital. The same ruse had been repeated time and time again. 

But then the dependency had set in and he’d found himself needing the narcotic hit just to get through the average day. What had once been a last resort became a commonplace action with more and more scripts written up. Today had pushed him over the edge. A lull in rescues had cut off his usual means of obtaining his supply, and he’d felt the anxiety building as his body became starved of its chemical fix. He’d stood there in the infirmary, tasked with giving Alan his midday medication, but the figure in the med bed had been asleep. He’d watched that small figure tossing fitfully between the sheets for a moment then filled in the charts and callously taken the drugs for himself.

Scott’s barriers broke and he slumped as the wave of self-loathing crashed over him. He felt a protective duty to all his brothers but none quite as much as Alan who had been so young when tragedy struck and plunged him into that parental role. To realise that he’d directly caused his brother unnecessary suffering triggered a wave nausea.

A pair of hands landed on his knees, breaking through the retrospection that engulfed him in remorse. He hadn’t registered his brother moving but there crouched in front of him was Virgil, those soft brown eyes showing only compassion, not the contempt he deserved.

“It’s okay Scott. We can get through this.”

It wasn’t okay. It was about as far from okay as life could possibly be but Virgil had a rescuers heart and he was the poor soul lost in the hurricane. He clung onto that lifeline of hope and vowed to do whatever was needed. There was a long road ahead. A road that was going to be punctuated with the pain of withdrawal but he would get through it, he needed to for the sake of his family that he knew would be beside him every step of the way.


End file.
